Gas chromatography equipment requires connecting very thin capillary tubes to equipment, and often disconnecting and reconnecting the tubes during operations. Typically the installer passes the column through a threaded fastener containing a ferrule with the fastener screwed into/onto a mating inlet of the equipment. If the column installation depth is too long or too short, chromatographic problems may result. It is also difficult sometimes to reach the installation inlets, and if the column must be changed during use or immediately after use, the column and fastener are hot and the user must wait a long time until they cool. Because the installation port of the GC analyzers are hot after use, it is easy to burn fingers when connecting the columns, and in the rush to install hot parts threads are often cross-threaded, leading to further installation delays and damage to equipment.
After use, the oven needs to cool down to a temperature comfortable to the user's touch so the nut that holds the column in place can be loosened by hand. It can take up to 20 minutes to cool the parts. After detaching the nut, a new column is inserted through the nut and ferrule and positioned into the injector at a specified depth. The nut and ferrule are then finger-tightened and given an extra half turn with a wrench until the column is secured. If the oven is not cooled down enough, the user's fingers will be burned when they touch the capillary nut. Thermal installation gloves help prevent burns, but gloves fray or stretch and impair the sensitivity of tightening.
Setting an appropriate column depth is also important since the depth affects reproducibility of the results. The columns are often marked with correction fluid to denote the correct installation depth, but the correction fluids are messy, they smear and they burn in the oven.
An improved installation mechanism is needed.